Agricultural Disparity in Uttar Pradesh — A District-level Analysis

The growth of agriculture is a pre-requisite for the development of Indian economy which contributes significantly to the export earnings and affects performance of other sectors of the economy through forward and backward linkages. The present paper has analysed the disparities in agricultural development at the district and regional levels in Uttar Pradesh. It has used UNDP methodology to standardize various indicators for agricultural attainment in the state of Uttar Pradesh using 13 agricultural development indicators. On the basis of this methodological issue, a composite index has been constructed at the district as well as regional levels for two cross-section years 1990–91 to 2008–09. The relative variations and changes in the ranks of different districts have been computed for the period under consideration. The study has revealed the transformation of some districts from relatively underperformers to the status of better performers and vice versa. The emparical evidence has shown that the western region of Uttar Pradesh is quite developed while the Bundelkhand region is least developed pocket of the state.